Illusion apparatus



3 Sheets Sheet 1,

A .l LAKE. ILLUsIoN APPARATUS.

(No Model.)

Patented Deo. 21, 1897. FICL arl/111111111111 [roven/i707'. marzia/6 La7e NL mmus *f f vs. .R^ .0. Paare-Anno., wAsHmovoN o a (No Mbdl) 3 sheets-sheena A. LAKE.

ILLUsIoN APPARATUS.'

No. 595,951'. Patented Deo'. 21, 1897.

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(Nq Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

111.1111115. ILLUSION APPARATUS. No. 595,951. Patented 1155. 21,1897;

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AMARIAH LAKE, OF PLEASANTVILLE, NEW JERSEY.

ILLUSION APPARATUS.

SIECXFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 595,951, dated December 21, 1897.

Application filed April 1, 1896. Serial No. 585,805.I (No model.)

,To all whom t may concer-n.-

Be it known that I, AMARIAH LAKE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Pleasantville, Atlantic county, New Jersey, have invented certain Improvements in Illusion Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide apparatus whereby certain illusions, mainly of a marine character, may be effected; and this object I attain in the mannerhereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure 1 is a sectional plan view of illusion apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line x Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line y y, l.. Fig. 4 is a view, partly in elevation and partly intransverse section, on the line w w, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a section on the line z z, Fig. 1; and Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are viewsof different features of the apparatus, illustrating more clearly than the other iigures the detailed construction of these parts.

1 represents the outer Wall or incasement of the building or apartment in which the illusion apparatus is contained, the entrance to said building or apartment being at the doorway 2, through which access is gained to an entrance hall or vestibule 3, which has a side doorway 4, providing communication between the vestibule 3 and the interior of a small room or apartment 5, which is mounted upon wheels running upon rails 6, so that it can be moved in order to cause its entrancedoorway 7 to register with' the doorway 4 of the vestibule 3, or so as to bring said doorway 7 into line with a doorway 8, which permits entrance into a second corridor or vestibule 9. The room or apartment 5 has in the side opposite the doorway 7 a Window-opening 10, and when said apartment is moved so that the doorway 7 is in line with the doorway 8, leading into the second vestibule 9, the window-opening 10 will be opposite an inclosure 11,'containin'g a representation of a flight of stairs 12, carried by ropes, Wires, or sprocketchains 13, passing over suitable pulleys at top and bottom of the inelosure 11, the lower wheels or pulleys being capable of being rotated from a crankshaft 14, so that the stairway 12 can be raised or lowered past the window-opening 10 of the room 5, thereby creating in the minds of the occupants of said room the illusion of vertical movement of the latter. To heighten the illusion, an attendant may be seen ascending or descending the stairway 12 as the latter is moved past the window-opening 10, and this attendant may address to the occupants of the room 5 remarks concerning the movement of the saine.

The opposite side walls and ceiling of the room 5 are enveloped by an endless belt or apron 15, passing around pulleys 16, so disposed that there is a run ofthe belt both inside and outside of each of the opposite side Walls and ceiling of the room. Hence by the application of power to either of the lower pulleys 16 the belt or apron may be caused to take the course indicated by the arrows in Fig. 4, rising on one side of the room, descending on the other side, and crossing the ceiling from one side to the other. In the belt 15 are formed openings 17, which, when the belt is in the position shown in Fig. 4, register with the door and window openings 7 and 10 of the room, so as to otter no obstruction to free ingress or to the exhibition of the stairway 12; but when the apron is moved, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 4, the effeet upon the occupants of the room is as though the room was being overturned, the rising of one wall, the descent of the other, and the movement of the ceiling creating a vivid illusion of this character, no portion of the mechanism whereby the illusion is created being visible, as the only apron-supporting pulleys which are inside of the room 5 are covered by segmental shields 18. The apparent quickness of the movement is enhanced by the fact that the run of the apron 15, outside ofthe window-opening 10, travels in a direction the reverse of the run of the apron on the inside of said window-opening, so that the latter opening is closed with twice the rapidity of the actual movement of the belt. This, however, is not essential, as the outer runs of the belt along the sides and ceiling of the room may, if desired, be dispensed With and the belt carried directly from side to side beneath the iioor of the room. After the illusion of overturning has IOO been continued until the belt or apron has been again restored to its normal position (shown in Fig. 4) the door 7 is opened and the passengers pass from the room 5 into the second corridor 9, and from thence through a doorway 19 into a room or apartment 20, containing a representation of a boat 2l, which is mounted upon springs 22, (shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1,) so as to be free to tip or tilt in different directions. The bottom portion ot' the room 2O is filled with water to a depth sufficient to carry it just above the bottoms of endless belts or aprons 23, located at the opposite sides of the room these belts or aprons being mounted upon upright shafts 24 and being retained in proper vertical position thereon by providing the shafts with flaring disks or shoulders 25 above and below the edges of the belt, power being imparted tothe various upright shafts 24 from a crankshaft 26 through the medium of any desired arrangement of connecting` belts and pulleys.

In order to prevent sagging of the endless belt or apron 23 between the vertical drums or rollers 24, I provide a supporting-belt 27, adapted to the end drums 24 of the apron 23 and to suitable supporting and guiding rollers 28, so that said supporting-belt 27 travels just beneath the edge of the inner run of the apron 23 and at the same speed as the latter.

The belt 27 may, if desired, be in contact with the bottom edge of the apron throughout its run, but I prefer to provide the apron with vertical strips or slats 29, ext-ending from top to bottom of the same, the lower ends of these slats being supported upon the belt 27 and thus providing for the proper support of the apron 23 from top to bottom of the same.

Upon the endless aprons 23 are painted suitable scenic representations and upon the lower portion of each apron are secured representations in relief of rocks or stones 30, which, as they are carried through the water in the lower portion of the room 20, cause agitation of the water and create the illusion of a rapidly-flowing current washing against the rocks.

Each apron and its driving,r devices are carried by a bar or frame 31, centrally pivoted to a standard 32 on the fioor of the room 20,

this frame being vibrated from a crank-shaft 33 through the medium of any desired arrangement of rods or levers, whereby, as the curtains are moved, they are also caused to tip or tilt, thereby creating in the minds of; the occupants of the boat 2l the illusion that l said boat is pitching or tossing upon as well as moving over the water, the illusion being enhanced by the unsteady support for the boat afforded by the springs 22.

In order to hide from the passengers in the boat 21 as much as possible of the machinery whereby the illusions are created, the end portions of each apron 23 are hidden by shields34, as shown in Fig. 1.

The means whereby the aprons 23 are driven from the crank-shaft 26 are centrally located, so that they are not materially disturbed by the, rocking movements of the frame 3l.

The passengers pass from the boat 21 into the corridor 9 and from the latter through a doorway 35 onto a platform 36, constructed to represent the deck of a vessel, this platform being mounted upon a central post or standard 37 in a room or apartment 38, the lower portion of which constitutes a tank filled with water up to the level indicated in Figs. 2 and 5. The platform 36 is mounted upon the post 37 by pivots at right angles to each other, asv shown in Figs. 3 and 5, so that it is free to tip or tilt in both directions, longitudinal tipping being effected by means of a lever 39, connected to one end of the platform, and vibrated by mechanism located on the outside of the room 38, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

Transverse tipping of the platform 36 is eected by means of a transverse lever .40, connected to the lever 39, and also to a 1ongitudinal lever 41, which is connected to the front portion of the `platform 36 at or about the longitudinal center of the same, as shown in Fig. 1. The passengers standing upon the deck or platform 36 thus experience the same feeling as those upon the deck of a pitching and rolling ship.

Within the room38 and in front of the deck or `platform 36 is a boX-like casing or inclosure 42, the lower edge of which dips into the water in the tank formed in the lower por` tion of said room 38, the walls of this casing bearing suitable scenic representations and thecasing having at the back a platform 43, faced with representatipns of rocks 44, and having upon it a representation of alighthouse 45, containing an electric light which can be readily controlled by means of a suitable switch, so as to shine steadily or liashat desired intervals.

On the floor of the room 38, infront of the platform 43, are rails 46 for the support and guidance of a truck 47 ,upon which is mounted by means of rods 48 arepresentation of a ship 49. Connected to the rear rod 48 is a cord or wire 50, which passes around a pulley on the truck 47 and thence around suitable guide pulleys on the casing 42 and outer casing l, so that by pulling upon this cord or wire the rods 48 may be caused to assume the upright position shown in Fig. 2, undue forward movement being prevented bya stop or abutment 51, which comes into contact with the forward rod 48. VVhen the rods are in the upright position, the representation of the ship 49 is supported at the proper height in respect to the level ot' Water in the tank; but upon slackening the cord 50 and drawing upon a cord 51a, connected to the stern of the ves* sel 49, thelatter may be caused tomove backward and downward, so as to sink beneath the level of the water.

The masts and smoke-stack of the ship are connected together bysuitablc cords or wires,

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and from the top of the foremast to the end of the bowsprit or jib-boom extends a cord or wire 52, which extends thence around a roller under the forefoot of the ship and thence over guide-pulleys to a point outside of the room l, so that by slackening this cord or wire the masts and smoke-stack may be caused to fall toward the stern as though broken off by the shock of a collision, it being understood that these parts are so pivoted as to have a natural tendency to fall rearward when the cord 52 is slackened, and so as to be restored to the upright position when desired by pulling upon the cord.

The movements of the truck 47 upon the rails 46 are controlled by suitable cords or wires 53 and 54, passing around guide-pulleys so disposed that by drawing upon first one of these cords-say the cord 53-the truck may be moved forward, while by drawing upon the other cord the truck maybe moved rearward.

From the casing 42, beneath the level of the vwater in the room 38, projects an arm 55,

which has at the inner end the representation of a rock 56, a portion of the latter projecting above the level of the water, and adjacent to this rock is suitably supported the representation of a buoy 57, which also projects above the water-level.

By the means described I am enabled to cause a realistic representation of the wrecking of a vessel by the running of the same upon a partially-submerged rock, the truck 47 being drawn forward until the ship 49 strikes the rock 56, whereupon the cord 52 is slackened, so as to cause the fall of the masts and smoke-stack, the cord 50 being then slackened and the cord 5l tightened, so as to cause the vessel to gradually sink beneath the waves preparatory to a retraction of the truck 47 and afurther lifting of the vessel to the normal position for repeating the effect.

Upon the floor of the room 38 are a pair of posts 58, upon which are mounted shafts'carrying crank-disks 59, a crank-pin on each of these disks being attached to a representation of a whale 60, so that by turning the disks in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 2 the said representation is caused to rise above the level of the water, is carried forward while thus elevated, and is then caused to sink beneath the level of the water again. The head of the whale communicates through a flexible tube 6l with a suitable tank 62, containing water, so that by a proper manipulation of a valve in said pipe 6l a jet of water may be projected from the head of the whale when the latter is above the level of the Water,

thus imitating a whale in the act of swimming and spouting. The rotation of the whale-operating crank-shafts is effected from a shaft 63 through the medium of a suitable arrangement of belts and pulleys. On the floor of the room 38 are other posts or supports 64, which carry shafts 65, having laterally-separated belt-pulleys 66, carrying two endless belts 67,-and between these belts are arranged a series of articulated plates or blocks 68 hung to transverse pins carried by the belts 67, said blocks or plates being shaped and painted to represent the conventional idea of a sea-serpent. .The upper runs of the belts 67 are under control of a grooved camplate 69, suitably supported upon the posts 64, the preferable method of control being by providing the transverse pins of the belts with depending portions 70, engaging said grooved cam-plate 69, so that the upper runs of the belts will be caused to take awaved or undulated course, and thus give to the representation of the sea-serpent the undulations supposed to be assumed by that mythical denizen of the deep while in the act of swimming. The endless belts 67 are driven from a suitable shaft 71 by means of appropriate connecting belts and pulleys, as shown in Fig. l.

In order to secure the effect of rising and falling of the waves upon the rocky shore represented by the front of the platform 43, the box or inclosure 42 has vertical movement imparted to it from a suitable crankshaft 72, connected to a lever 73 by means of a rod 74, as shown in Fig. 2, so that the rocky front of the platform 43 is alternately raised and lowered in the water in the lower portion of the room 38 in order to present the appearance of Waves washing upon and receding from the rocks.

Above the deck or platform 36 is supported a bar 75, which carries a water-pipe 76, having a series of nozzles 77, which are carried first upward from the pipe and then forwardly and downwardly,'so as to discharge streams of water directly in front of the deck or platform 36, the latter, as shown in Fig. 5, being suitably roofed, so that these spray-pipes are not visible to the occupants of the deck 36. Beneath the pipe 76 are arranged numbers of electric lamps 78, which can be caused to flash so as to imitate lightning-dashes, the jets of water from the nozzles 77 representing a rain-storm.

By the gooseneck form of nozzle 77 I pre- .vent the dripping, which, if the pipe 76 was provided with straight nozzles, would continue for some time after the flow of water into the pipe 76 was cut off or until said pipe 76 was completely drained, whereas in the construction shown the water remains in the lOO IIS

pipe 76 and in the upwardly-projecting porond corridor beyond the same but on the samehorizontal lplane and separated therefrom, with a room or apartment having a doorway therein, said room or apartment `loeing mounted close to the walls of the corridor structure and so as to be movable in a horizontal plane, whereby its doorway may register either with a doorway in the entrance-corridor or with a doorway in the secondary corridor, substantially as specified.

2. In illusion apparatus, the combination of a room or apartment having a window-opening therein, with a stairway mounted on the outside of said window-opening so as `to be movable vertically past the same, substantially as specified.

3. In illusion apparatus, the combination of a room or apartment, with a traveling belt or apron mounted so as to 4travel upwardly along one side of the room or apartment and downwardly along the other side of the same, substantially as specified.

4. In-illusionapparatus, the combination of a room or apartment, with abelt or apron mounted so as to travel upwardly along one side of said room or apartment laterally across the `ceiling thereof and downwardly on the opposite side, substantially as specified.

5. In illusion apparatus, the combination of `a room or apartment, with an endless belt enveloping two of the opposite sides and the ceiling of said room or apartment so as to have one run on the inside of the room and another run on the outside of the same, substantially` as specified.

6. In illusion apparatus, the combination of a `room` or `apartment having a window-opening therein with an endless belt having one run on the inside of the room or apartment and another run on the outside of the same, said endless belt having openings adapted to register with the `window-opening and said belt `being so mounted that its outer run will travel in a direction the reverse of the inner run, substantially as specified.

7. In illusion apparatus, the combination of a representation of a boat, with an endless apron mounted so as to travel, and also so as to rock or vibrate in order to cause the illusion of a boat traveling ahead and rising and falli-ng in its course,substantially as specified.

8. Inillusion apparatus, the combination of a representation of a boat mounted upon springs, with scenic representations mounted so as to rock or vibrate, substantially as specified.

9. I'n illusion apparatus, the combination of a `tank containing water, the representation of a boat mounted therein, an endless apron having thereon relief representations of rock` work, partially submerged in the water in the tank, and means for moving said endless apron, substantially as specified.

10. In` illusion apparatus, the combination i of an endless apron mounted upon verticalg drums, with a horizontal carrier-belt traveling beneath and at the same speed as one of the runs of said apron, substantiallyas specified.

11. In illusion apparatus, the combination of an endless apron having vertical slats or strips thereon, vertical drums upon which said apron is mounted and by which it is driven, and a horizontal carrier-belt supporting the lower ends of the strips of the apron and driven so as to travel at the same speed as said apron, substantially as specified.

12. In illusion apparatus, the combination of a tank containing water, with a suspended box or casing having walls partially submerged in the water in the tank, and means for raising and lowering said suspended box or easing, substantially as specified.

13. In illusion apparatus, the combination of a universally-pivoted deck or platform, a longitudinal lever connected to one end of said deck or platform, a second longitudinal lever connected to the front central portion of said deck or platform, and a transverse lever connecting said longitudinal levers,sub stantially as specified.

14:. Inillusion apparatus, the combination of a tank having water therein, a representation of a rock projecting above said water, a representation of a ship, a truck upon which said ship is mounted, and means for moving said truck so as to cause the ship to strike the rock, substantially as specified.

15. In illusion apparatus, the combination of a tank containing water, a representation of a ship mounted upon swinging rods in said tank, andcords whereby said rods lnay be controlled so as to be swung either forward or rearward, whereby the ship can be carried forward and upward above the level of water in the tank, and downward and rearward below the same, substantially as specified.

16. In -illusion apparatus, the combination of a tank containing water, a truck movable back and forth in said tank, and a representation of a ship mounted upon said truck so as to be movable forward and upward, or downward and rearward thereon, substantially as specified.

17. In illusion apparatus, the representation of a ship having hinged upper structures connected together with arope or cord, whereby said upper structu'res can be simultaneously permitted to fall, or can be raised again, substantially as specified.

18. In illusion apparatus, the combination of a tank containing water, shafts located below the level of the water, crank-pins operated by said shaft, and a representation of a whale mounted upon said crank-pins whereby, upon turning the shafts, said representation may be caused to rise above or sink beneath the level of water in the tank, substantially as specified.

19. In illusion apparatus, the combination of a tank containing water, with a representation of a whale mounted so as to be movable in` said tank, an elevated water-tank and a flexible connection between said water-tank IOO IIO

22. In illusion apparatus, the combination of a tank containing Water, with an endless belt comprising laterally-separated portions With transverse pins and articulated blocks or plates carried by said pins and constituting the representation of a sea-serpent, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this speoioation in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

Y AMARIAH LAKE.

Witnesses:

WILL". A. BARR, FRANK E. BECHTOLD. 

